


When Things Fall Apart

by MissAxolotlQueen



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Imprinting (Twilight), Based on Song Lyrics, Coming of Age, Complicated Relationships, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Imprinting, Imprinting (Twilight), Jacob Black actually has some character development, Slow Burn, shocker I know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-01-29 22:48:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21417934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissAxolotlQueen/pseuds/MissAxolotlQueen
Summary: Michelle and Jacob were close. As childhood friends that grew up together, they were there for each other through everything. Thick and thin, they had each other's backs. But what happens when old-found relationships and the hardships of life threaten the bond that's kept them connected for all these years?What happens when things fall apart?
Relationships: Jacob Black/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 36





	1. "Consequences" by Camila Cabello

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT NOTE! 
> 
> This is a work that I had previously been writing on fanfiction's website as a part of a song-shot series that I was doing. Instead of finishing it on there, however, I'm going to finish it off on here and give it its own moment. Obviously, this series got out of hand considering it was originally supposed to be one chapter lol. I couldn't help it though! I just kept writing. I have no self-control... I need to stop trying to write open-ended one-shots, because that never ends the way I want it to. Anyways, the way that series works is I usually inspire each chapter (what's supposed to be a one-shot) off of a song. I'll post the lyrics that inspired the theme of the chapter the most and obviously, you can go check out the song to get a better feel for the chapter.
> 
> Just wanted to get that clear before starting. Otherwise, I DO NOT own any of these characters except for my own, nor do I own what little of Twilight's plot that I use in this story or "Consequences" by Camila Cabello :)

_“Loving you was sunshine, safe and sound_  
_A steady place to let down my defenses.  
_ _But loving you had consequences.”_

* * *

AUGUST

* * *

Michelle heard the familiar sound of the back door opening followed by heavy footsteps. She paused in her typing, lifting her head to confirm the footsteps heading towards her. She reached out for the unopened bottle of water on the coffee table beside her and held it over the back of the couch knowingly. 

She didn’t need to look to know who it was.

“You know me so well Mitchie,” teased the other person as they grabbed the drink out of her hand. She rolled her eyes lightheartedly and went back to typing, not missing the distinct clicking sound of the bottle cap twisting open for the first time followed by the crackling of the plastic being drained of its contents.

After a few more minutes of shuffling around in the open kitchen, a heavy weight dropped onto the cushion beside her. She sunk into the dip, falling into the lanky body of her best friend. 

“Whatcha doing?” Jacob sung, taking a peek at what was pulled up on her laptop. His brows furrowed. “What’s that?”

“It’s my project for creative writing.”

“You take creative writing?”

“You’re not funny.”

He laughed, his usual dopey smile stretching his features in a familiar way. “You know I’m kidding. What’s the project this time?”

Michelle was used to talking about her creative endeavors with Jacob. They’ve been best friends since they were little, and writing had always been important to her. So of course, he was the one to listen to her whenever she wanted to rant about a short story she was writing or— when she got into her creative writing class— her weekly projects that she spent most of her time working on.

She settled herself again, getting comfortable under Jacob’s arm. “It was a group project this time. We have to turn one of our previous writing assignments into a short film. I’m editing it now.”

He glanced briefly at the screen before shrugging and reaching for the television remote. “Looks complicated.”

The television came to life with whatever channel that was playing when it was last shut off. It was a sports channel, so she could only assume that Billy had been the one to last use the TV. She usually joined Billy in watching his sports, even if she had no clue what was going on half the time, but she had been so busy working on this project last night that she didn’t have time for anything else. It sucked to miss her quality time Billy— he was like a second dad to her after all— but she can spend time with him whenever. This project, on the other hand, is due in a couple days and it still needed a TON of editing before it was finished. 

“It’s not really that hard,” she mumbles, shuffling a couple clips around to an order she liked. “You just have to get used to it.”

The room fell into silence. Jacob watched some action movie he found while flipping through channels and Michelle worked on her project. Right as the movie was wrapping up, the front door opened, catching both of the teens’ attention. 

“Jacob? Michelle?”

“In here Billy!” Michelle called. Deciding to take a break, she pulled away from Jacob and threw her laptop onto the couch. It wasn’t until she stood up that she realized how long she had been sitting in the same spot. Her legs were practically numb and her back was aching due to how she’d been hunched over. 

Jacob must have noticed the grimace on her face, because he immediately pulled her back down onto the couch so that she was facing away from him. She didn’t fight him. She already knew what he was silently offering. So, she let him work his magic.

Nothing needed to be said. Jacob gave her a quick, yet effective, shoulder rub before cracking her back in a way that only he can do. No words were exchanged. In fact, this was how most of their time together went: comfortably silent. They had been around each other so much at this point that words just didn’t seem necessary most of the time. They were so used to the other’s presence that everything just came naturally to them. 

That’s what Jacob and Michelle’s relationship had always been. Natural.

* * *

“Would you guys slow down! I’m running in flip flops here! Cut a woman some slack!”

A round of laughter sounded from ahead of Michelle, causing her to roll her eyes and run faster to catch up. She was not a clumsy person. Not the most athletic, sure, but running was never a problem for her.

At least when she wasn’t in flip flops and a bathing suit cover-up it wasn’t.

When she finally reached the three boys, she bent over to try and rub some life back into her calves. They had started burning a couple hundred feet back, but now they had passed the stage of feeling like they were on fire and moved straight into going numb. 

“It’s not our fault your slow.”

Michelle looked up and glared at Quil. “Yeah, well it’s not my fault you guys have the bodies of green beans. I’m petite. I can’t stilt walk like you guys can.”

Embry crossed his arms and smirked. “I don’t know whether to laugh at that or be genuinely offended. You know how sensitive Quil is about his noodle body.”

“You know, I can let those comments slide with Mitchie, but if you think you’re going to get away with it, then you’ve got another thing coming!”

And with that, the two dunderheads were off— Quil chasing Embry down the beach and Embry running ahead like his life depended on it. Jacob and Michelle both shook their heads in amusement. Those boys were something else.

After a moment, Jacob turned to give her a look before nodding towards a small overhang of trees along the shore. She simply nodded and followed him with her small bag of necessities hanging in a small backpack over her shoulder. Unfortunately for Michelle, she has always had issues with getting sunburn and dehydrated more quickly than what was probably considered normal for a girl her age. Because of that, whenever she went to the beach— even if just for a half an hour— she always made sure to load up on sunscreen and water. There was only one time that she can remember forgetting her bag at home, and after forty-five minutes of being in the sun, she passed out. It scared the hell out of Jacob, and ever since, he always made sure that she remembered to bring her little “beach bag”, as the boys called it.

After finding a comfortable, shady spot, Jacob and Michelle rolled out a big beach towel that Jacob had brought and plopped down next to each other. Jacob let out a long sigh and fell onto his back with a small _ thud! _ Michelle gave him a quick glance while rummaging through her stuff to find her chapstick. “What’s your problem?”

He didn’t say anything at first. Michelle paused in her quest for chapstick and turned to give him her full attention, only to find that he was already staring at her. 

“What?” she asked.

He blinked, almost as if her words had snapped him out of some kind of trance. “Oh, nothing. Just haven’t been to the beach with you in a while. You’ve been pretty busy.”

She raised a brow. “I see you almost every day.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, “but, we haven’t come to the beach together in a while. There’s a difference.”

“I didn’t know us having beach time together was so important to you.”

He paused again. “Well it is.”

Michelle narrowed her eyes in confusion. He had never really made a big deal about going to the beach together. Whenever they went, they went. That was that. But then again, she had been pretty busy lately. Ever since she began her creative writing class, she’s had her hands full with projects upon projects and other homework to top it off. Sure, she saw him every day. She practically lived at Billy’s house after all. But when she was there, she was usually doing work for school. They were in the same room together, but they were doing their own thing.

Now that she thought about it, it’s actually been awhile since Jacob and her have done something together period. Not just go to the beach, but anything. 

Her eyes softened. 

“Well summer isn’t technically over yet. We still got a few more weeks, so we can go to the beach every day if you want.”

His eyes widened and he shook his head. “Yeah, no. I don’t think so. You’re puny, pale little body can’t handle that much sunlight. You’ll melt.”

She threw her hand at his arm, smirking victoriously when it connected in a resounding _ clap _! He yelped, “Ow! Mitchie, what the hell?!”

“Aw, what? Did that hurt? Who’s the puny one now?”

His eyes narrowed as if angry, but there was no way she could ever take him seriously. The smile playing on his lips gave him away. “You really shouldn’t ha-”

“Yo Jake! You better not be messing with our girl Mitch!” Embry popped up beside Jacob.

“Is this guy bothering you Mitchie? We’ll take care of him for you.” Quil added in, wrapping an arm around Michelle’s shoulder. 

Jacob rolled his eyes. “Please. If anyone’s bothering anyone here it would be her bothering me. I’m an angel.”

“That’s what a creep would say. Right Embry?”

“Totally. Just goes to show, you never really know a person.”

“Alright,” Jacob jumped up from his spot on the towel and cracked his knuckles. “I’ll give you two a head start. Run.”

The two took off once again, this time with Jacob following. 

Michelle laughed so hard her cheeks hurt. And that’s how the rest of the day was spent— laughing and running around while Jacob occasionally reminded her to drink some water or reapply her sunscreen. It was fun— a lot of fun. More fun than she had in awhile. 

Jacob was right, they need to come to the beach more often. 

* * *

NOVEMBER

* * *

“Why is it that you have better hair than me? It’s not fair.”

Jacob laughed, accidentally pulling his head away from Michelle’s hands. She kept her grip on the three pieces she had sectioned off, pulling them back into place before continuing her french braid.

“Just because it’s longer doesn’t mean it’s nicer. It just means I need a haircut.”

Michelle continued to weave the pieces of hair, taking her time to make sure that they were secure and smooth. “If you ever do anything more than a trim I will finish the job for you and shave your head bald in your sleep.”

“You will not.”

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Do you really want to find out?”

He chuckled. “Touche. Although, personally, I think I would rock the bald look.”

She scoffed. 

“What, you don’t think so?”

“There’s no way. You would look like a peanut.”

This had Jacob doubling over. It wasn’t really that funny, but it was late and it was getting to that point in the night where everything was funny. 

Michelle chuckled as he gasped for air. She slapped him on the shoulder. “Shut up, you’re going to wake your dad up.”

He took a moment to breathe deeply and collect himself. Finally, he had his laughter under control, but the smile on his face was still lighting up the room. “Sorry, sorry. You’re right. Quiet time.”

She huffed out a laugh before continuing to weave the pieces of his hair together. They fell into a bought of silence, the only noise being her laptop that was sitting beside Jacob on the floor playing one of the most recent Marvel movies. 

“Hey Mitchie?”

She hummed.

“Do…” he sighed. “What do you think about the whole Embry thing?”

Her hands froze, the strands of hair threatening to fall through her fingers before she snapped out of it and continued her ministrations. It was a good question. She had been trying not to think too much about the whole situation, but that’s pretty hard to do when one of your best friends just basically up and leaves you for what’s rumoured to be a gang. 

Now granted, Michelle didn’t really believe in the whole “gang” talk going around about Sam and his group of friends, but she had to admit, they were kind of suspicious. Not in a “we’re selling drugs and if you cross our path, we’ll kill you” type of way, but everything about them just felt so secretive and closed off. And they definitely don’t try to hide how sketchy they were acting. They definitely weren’t acting casual about it. If anything, their behavior only proved to make them look more suspicious. 

And now Embry’s with them. He hasn’t talked to Michelle, Jacob, or Quil in the past three weeks. It was like he just one day decided that he didn’t want to bother with them anymore. 

She had to admit, it really hurt. 

“I don’t know… Maybe he’s just going through something.”

Jacob turned around, thankfully after she had tied off the braid with an elastic. “What do you mean ‘maybe he’s going through something’? Even if he was, he would at least tell us right? You have to admit, it’s weird that he just cut ties with us out of nowhere. And for Sam’s gang? Something doesn’t add up!”

Michelle rolled her eyes, looking down to meet his gaze from where she was sitting cross-legged on the bed behind him. “Sam doesn’t have a gang Jake, that’s ridiculous.”

“Well it makes sense! Him, Jared, Paul, and now Embry. One by one, they all grew to the size of giants and suddenly got all suspicious and secretive, and the common factor? They all joined Sam’s little group. Maybe it’s not a gang, but whatever it is seems fishy.”

She didn’t know what to say to that. He was right. There were so many things that just seemed… odd about that group. And now Embry, someone who used to make fun of them and conspire about them, is a part it.

Jacob sighed, calming himself down a bit. She knew this was difficult for him. After all, Embry was his friend too. 

She reached out and pushed a stray chunk of bangs behind his ear. He leaned into her touch and fell forward, resting his cheek against her leg with his eyes closed. 

“I just can’t believe he left us like that.”

“I know.”

He turned his head so that he could look her in the eye and smiled. “At least I still have you.”

She felt the heat rising to her cheeks and was suddenly grateful that the room was too dark for him to see. 

He had been having this effect on her lately. For the past couple of months, there would be moments where he would say something that made her feel weird. Maybe it was the way he would say it, or the looks he gave her so casually that always somehow felt special to her.

Michelle had an inkling of what these sudden feelings might be, but she refused to believe it. 

She couldn’t afford to be dealing with those types of feelings right now. Her and Jacob were best friends. She couldn’t afford to mess that up with a stupid crush. 

“You have Quil too y’know,” she muttered, narrowing her eyes slightly at the computer screen in hopes of avoiding eye contact. She knew that looking into those eyes could be dangerous for someone in her position, so she purposefully avoided them.

She felt his head shake against her calf. “Yeah, but that’s different. He’s one of my best friends, but you’re more than that. You’re like, my best friend squared.”

She couldn’t help but feel a hint of pain in her chest at his words, but she ignored it. There was never going to be a right time for that. It wasn’t going to happen. She needed to get over it. 

Chuckling lightly, she shook her head in amusement. “Best friend squared? Is that the best you could come up with?”

She could practically feel him roll his eyes at her. “You know what I mean. It’s different with you.”

She was quiet for a moment. “I know what you mean.”

“And I know you’d never join a gang and cut ties with me.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Fortunately, gangs aren’t my thing.”

“You’ll never leave me.”

Her smile fell.

“Never.”

* * *

JANUARY

* * *

“Where is he?”

Michelle had been calling Jacob for the past twenty minutes, but he had still yet to respond and it was really starting to annoy her. 

“Maybe he forgot his phone at home and he’s running late.”

“He’s never this late Quil, and he always answers his phone. Something’s not right…”

She tried calling him again, but this time it went straight to voicemail. She pulled her phone back from her ear and glared harshly at the device. Not only were they now missing the movie that her and the two boys had been planning to see for the past month because of Jacob “running late”, but now she was starting to get worried that something had happened to him. 

“He better be dying…” she mumbled under her breath. Quil seemed to have heard her, however, as he let out a long, dramatic sigh of agreement. 

“I’m sure it’s something importa-”

Her phone started ringing, catching the attention of both teenagers. 

It was Jacob. 

She answered on the first ring. “Where the hell are you? We’ve been standing out here in the cold for the past twenty minutes waiting for you, so you better have a damn good excuse!”

_ “Shit, I didn’t realize I was that late. Listen, I’m not going to be able to make it.” _

Quil saw the look of rage settle onto Michelle’s face and shook his head, taking a step back to avoid being a target of her wrath.

“Are you kidding me?”

_ “No, I’m so sorry Mitchie-” _

“Don’t call me that!”

It went silent for a second. Quil watched it all unfold, careful to be quiet as the tension grew thick around them. 

A sigh rang over the other end of the call. _ “Come on, don’t be like that…” _

Michelle opened her mouth to protest, but fought the urge with a deep breath. She didn’t want to make a scene. 

“Are you seriously just not coming? Is everything okay?”

_ “Yeah, everything’s fine. It’s just that Bella _ _ — _ _ you remember her from when we were little, right? Well, she came back in town today and I didn’t know until this morning so I-” _

She hung up without letting him finish.

She was mad. Not only mad, but hurt as well. Probably more hurt than mad if she were being completely honest with herself. He ditched them. He literally ditched them. 

“Um,” Quil squeaked when she turned her attention to him. “I-is everything okay?”

“He’s not coming.”

“I gathered that, but did he say why?”

She shook her head in mild disbelief. Jacob had never been one to pull shit like this with her or Quil or any of his friends. 

“Apparently Chief Swan’s daughter came back into town today so he went to see her instead.”

She couldn’t help the bitterness that leaked into her voice near the end. And she didn’t really care either. She was too frustrated to care.

“Wait, seriously.” Even Quil sounded shocked. “So he just ditched us?”

She nodded. 

“Damn.” He didn’t know what to say, and she couldn’t really blame him. She felt the same. 

“We’re already 25 minutes late, you wanna just wait for the next show? It starts in an hour.” Screw Jake. They didn’t need him to have a good time. They had been waiting far too long to see this movie to let one person ruin it for them. “We can just go get some food in the meantime. I haven’t eaten yet.”

Quil nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

They quickly purchased their tickets so they wouldn’t have to wait in the line later before heading down the street to a pizza place that they always went to. 

On the way, all Michelle could seem to think was the same four words over and over on a loop.

Screw you Jacob Black.

* * *

FEBRUARY

* * *

Michelle would like to say that Jacob ditching her was a one-time thing, but she would be lying. Ever since that day, Jacob had become one of the most unreliable people she knew, and for what? Some girl he knew when he was ten? 

Michelle was quickly becoming sick of being stood up at the last minute every time they made plans to hang out. One or two times, she could get over, but when being ignored started to become a regular thing, she had to put her foot down. She was beyond annoyed with him, and what better way to show you’re pissed at someone than to ignore them completely. 

So that’s exactly what she did and has been doing for the past week. Every time Jacob called to inevitably cancel and reschedule the plans they had, she would mute her phone and ignore the call. Every text he would send her trying to explain himself, she would not read. Her inbox had been steadily filling up over the past few days, but she didn’t mind. 

He even tried sending her an email, to which she promptly spammed. 

She had successfully avoided him after school as well since she had photography club for an hour and a half after classes ended while he goes home right when he gets off. 

Overall, it seemed fairly petty, what she was doing to him, but in her mind he deserved it. If he wants to blow her off for nothing important, then why even bother giving him the time of day? 

It’s not like he was her best friend or anything. 

It’s not like they had been thicker than thieves for eighty percent of their lives. 

It’s not like they were each others everything. 

It’s not like any of that stuff mattered to Jacob anymore, so why should it matter to her?

* * *

Friday had been rough for Michelle. 

School had dragged on for what felt like hours longer than it actually was. She forgot her homework for Physics on the kitchen table and her teacher is one of those teachers that are adamant on no late work, so that dropped her overall grade a good two percent. She tripped over a stupid roley backpack on the way to lunch and cut up her knee on the concrete outside. And then she got home to an empty fridge and had no money to fill it. 

It was a pretty bad day for her, and she was feeling absolutely miserable. Not only was she having a bad day, but she had nobody that she could talk to in order to make it better. 

Her father hadn’t been home since Tuesday— something about a business conference in Texas.

Quil was busy helping his mom prepare their house for guests tonight. Apparently they were having some distant family coming into town for the weekend, so he had his hands pretty much tied until Monday morning. 

Embry was out of the question at this point. He had practically removed himself from their lives months ago and hasn’t spoken a word to any of them since. 

That just left Jacob. 

Despite how angry, annoyed, and hurt she had been with Jacob over the last week and a half, she found herself desperately missing him on multiple occasions. Especially in times like these when she was used to just calling him over to brighten her day. 

Because no matter what type of situation she’s going through, she always had Jacob to rely on to cheer her up. That was never out of the question. 

But now it was, and Michelle’s chest clenched at the that harsh reality. 

Without giving herself a chance to be realistic and back out, she picked up her phone and called him. She didn’t care how mad she was. She didn’t care that she had been ignoring him for the past 10 days. She didn’t care that he had given up trying to get ahold of her six days in. 

She just wanted her best friend. 

But she called, and called, and called. 

And he never answered. 

* * *

APRIL

* * *

Two whole months went by before she heard even a single word from Jacob. It wasn’t even intentional either. She had been walking past his house on the way to the only corner store in town and he had just been pulling into his driveway with Billy. They probably went grocery shopping or something, but that didn’t matter to her. All that mattered to Michelle was that Jacob—perfectly healthy and a bit taller and more muscular than before—was helping his father into his wheelchair like nothing was wrong in the world. 

The same Jacob who hadn’t returned her calls. The same Jacob who couldn’t even bother to text her back letting her know that he was okay. 

The same Jacob she hadn’t spoken a single word to in over two months. 

“Jake!” 

She couldn’t walk by without saying something. No matter how mad she was, or how frustrated, or how defeated, she couldn’t just say nothing as their friendship slipped between her fingers. 

She couldn’t let that happen. 

He froze at the sound of her voice, continuing to secure the safety bar on the wheelchair before turning to see the small girl running up their dirt driveway towards him. 

Billy took a glance between the two of them as she came to a stop a few feet away. He nodded his head cautiously, muttering something about letting us work out our own problems before rolling into the house with a couple of grocery bags hanging off one of the handles on the back of his wheelchair. 

The two watched him leave before turning back to one another. Jacob was staring intensely at his feet while Michelle met his eyes with conviction. She was finally talking to him. After so long, she was finally standing in front of her best friend again. 

She wanted to say so much. There were so many questions and so many explanations sitting on the tip of her tongue, yet the words didn’t seem to want to come out of her mouth. 

So she did the only thing she could think of at the moment. 

She ran straight into the unsuspecting boy’s chest, wrapping her arms tightly around him and burying her head into his neck. He stiffened at the contact, but slowly relaxed, bringing his arms up to wrap around her waist.

They held each other tightly, neither wanting to be the one to let go. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her breath bouncing softly off of the skin where his neck met his shoulder. 

She didn’t know why she apologized. She didn’t do anything wrong after all. But she did it. She apologized, because she knew that if she didn’t, then this awful silence between the two of them would go on longer and longer until it became permanent. 

And god knows she didn’t want that. 

So she bit her lip and said it. Even though she didn't have to. Even though the roles should have been reversed, she did it anyways in order to get her best friend back. 

That night, he didn’t say a word.

* * *

MAY

* * *

“I don’t know. What are you guys ordering?”

Michelle, Jacob, and Quil were out to breakfast at Sue’s Diner for the first time in what felt like forever. Michelle had invited the two boys after school the previous day to spend the night at her place to have a movie marathon and since there was no food in the house for breakfast, they all decided to head over to Sue’s.

“I’m getting the all you can eat pancakes,” Quil said without even looking at his menu. Jacob perked up. 

“Oo, sounds good. I think I’ll do that too.”

Michelle chuckled. “Might as well join the party.”

After ordering their meals the trio got to talking as they awaited their food. 

Taking a sip from her water, Michelle leaned forward placing an elbow on the table. “Man, I’m tired.”

Quil laughed. “Well, you were the one who wanted to finish the last movie. What time did you actually end up falling asleep anyways?”

She looked sheepishly down at her drink. “Three.”

Jacob snorted. “And you wonder why you’re tired.”

She glared at him, tossing her straw wrapper into his long hair in retaliation. She didn’t expect for him to block it, however, which only made her pout some more. 

“By the way,” Jacob said, ignoring my pouting face. “Where was your dad? Was he out of town or something? I’m surprised he let us stay the night.”

The other two fell silent. Quil’s eyes widened, giving Jacob a look of disbelief and Michelle was simply frozen— hand hovering over her drink, straw drawn in between her index and middle fingers.

Jacob looked confused. “What?”

Quil snapped out of it first, shaking his head slowly while glancing at me and then back to Jacob. “Dude, bad topic…”

“What? Why?”

Michelle’s eyes hadn’t moved from her glass. It was amazing how a question so innocent can snap you back to reality so quickly. 

Her father had gone on a “business trip” three weeks ago. He has been gone ever since then, which worried her to no ends, but what was worse was the first thing she heard back from him was a text meant for someone else. 

_ “I’ll pick up some milk on the way home.” _

It was a simple enough text. However, it was what was in between the lines that hurt the most. 

As innocent as that text was, it spoke volumes in terms of where her father has been going on and off for the past year or so. At first she believed him when he said that it was business, obviously. Who wouldn’t believe that right off the bat? But as time progressed, she realized how inconsistent these business meetings were. Also, most of them were in the same small town in California.

She was suspicious, but it wasn’t until she received that text a week ago that she decided to investigate. 

And low-and-behold, what did she find?

Her father had another family. 

Yes, it was a shock. At first, she didn’t know whether or not to even believe it. But the evidence was all there. 

Her father had another family. In California. Where he spent more time than he did with her, his only blood-related child. Or maybe that wasn’t true anymore. According to the paperwork she found, he had been with these people for the past 14 months.

To say it was a shock would have been an understatement. For that whole night, her chest was tight and her stomach was in knots. Her eyes were flooded and her throat kept clenching, giving her a massive migraine to boot.

She needed Jacob that night. She needed her best friend to be there for her and hug her and reassure her that everything was okay. She needed someone to tell her that it was all wrong. That the feeling of abandonment that was beginning to sink into her heart was ridiculous and that she would wake up the next morning realizing it had all been a dream. 

But he didn’t answer. 

“Seriously guys, who died?”

“Maybe you would know if you actually picked up your phone once in a while.”

The spite that ran through those words surprised even herself. She really didn’t want to hash out these feelings now. Her and Jacob’s friendship had been treading on thin ice ever since she apologized to him, and she really didn’t want to be the one to shatter the illusion that everything was okay. 

Too bad it wasn’t her head talking anymore. 

Jacob’s jaw hung open as he tried to figure out how to respond. Michelle and him have rarely ever thrown harsh words at each other. When they fight, they say things as they are and figure out how they can fix it. 

They don’t get malicious.

Before he had the chance to speak, Quil tried cutting in. “Mitchie…”

“No, don’t involve yourself in this Quil. This is between Jacob and myself.”

Jacob’s eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” she pushed her drink aside. “I’m sick of your bullshit.”

“What the hell-”

“If you had even once tried thinking about anybody other than yourself or your precious Bella, maybe you wouldn’t be so clueless as to what’s been going on in the real world lately.”

Both boys were equally as baffled, but for different reasons. Quil was shocked that she had the balls to say something now—and here of all places—while Jacob was just confused. 

He began getting defensive. “One, don’t bring Bella into this. And two, what the hell are you going on about? I just asked if your dad was away on business.”

“Right!” she laughed hysterically, drawing some attention from the neighboring tables. “God forbid I spoke harshly of the deity that is Ms. Swan! And like I said, maybe if you actually cared enough to be there for me when I needed you, you’d know that my dad left me three weeks ago to go fuck around with his new family!”

At this point, the whole diner had eyes on their table. People started whispering to each other in hushed tones, but Michelle didn’t care. Everything was finally coming out and it felt so damn good. 

Jacob’s eyes were wide. “What?” It was barely a whisper, but it got its point across nonetheless. 

“And you know who I had to turn to?! Nobody! Absolutely nobody! And it’s all because of you and your little master! I’m so sick of hearing the same thing ‘Bella this’ and ‘Bella that’. You’re turning into a selfish prick the more time you spend with her and I’m getting sick of it!”

Guilt and shame began festering within Jacob, but instead of recognizing it and accepting it, he ignored the unpleasant feelings and used them to fuel his defense. “Hey! Don’t talk about Bella like that! You don’t have any right!”

“Fuck you! Yes, I do! Because of her, I’m losing the closest person to me, so if I wanna call her a manipulative skank then I will!” 

“Stop being such a bitch Michelle!”

Michelle tried to ignore the pain that sprung up at his words. She can take name-calling, but when it was Jacob, it was different.

She slammed her hands on the table and stood, causing the silverware to rattle, some falling to the floor.

“Fuck you Jacob. Fuck you and your pathetic one-sided love bullshit. She doesn’t even like you! Get over it!”

He stood as well. “She does like me, and I like her! A lot! You’re just jealous because nobody loves you, not even your own dad!”

It went quiet. So quiet that you could hear a pin drop. All noise in the kitchen stopped as soon as Michelle stood and everybody in the building was now staring at the two uncomfortably. 

Everything seemed to go still in Michelle’s mind. Her heart felt like it stopped and her hands went ice cold. 

_ Nobody loves you. Not even your own dad. _

Her eyes welled up with tears. 

“Mitchie... I-I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean-”

She couldn’t even look at him right now. She just needed to get out of there. She needed to leave. Her throat was starting to tighten and her chest felt heavy. She needed to get out of there.

She stumbled out from between the chair and the table and rushed towards the door.

“Mitchie wait!”

She was gone.

* * *

SEPTEMBER

* * *

It had been weeks since she last spoke to anybody. Even at school, she would go to her classes, eat her lunch in a secluded corner of the library while she did her homework, and then leave. She had skipped her last few photography club meetings. The club manager had approached her after class a couple of days ago to tell her that if she kept skipping, then they would be forced to kick her out. 

She didn’t care. She just wanted to be left alone. 

Her father showed up for a couple of nights about a week ago, but then left again. She hasn’t heard from him since. Hell, he barely spoke to her while he was there. He simply said hi, left her a hundred bucks, and then watched television in his room while he “worked” for the rest of the time he was in the house. 

At least she had money for some groceries now. 

She hadn’t spoken to Jacob at all. They were back to ignoring one-another, except this time he didn’t even bother trying to get a hold of her. 

And now Quil had disappeared on her too. She tried calling him a few times in the beginning in a desperate attempt at gaining some company. As much as she wanted time to herself, cutting herself off was hard at first. 

But he didn’t answer her. She started to get worried at first before realizing the pattern in his behavior. First Embry, then Jacob, now Quil. What the hell was with her friends and leaving her? Was it some sort of trend that she didn’t know about? Or did she just have a habit of picking shitty people as friends?

She was starting to get used to being alone now. She knew that it probably wasn’t healthy to be thinking that way, but it was the truth. The more time she spent alone, the more she became accustomed to it. People ignoring her phone calls became such a regular thing for her that she gave up even trying, and developing a routine around the house to keep herself from slumping around in her bed all day grew easier and easier as the days went by. 

That being said, however, she still couldn’t help but question where it all went wrong for her. 

Did she overreact around Jacob? Maybe she should have just kept her mouth shut…

Why did she blow up over such a small, harmless, rhetorical question?

Why is she double-guessing herself constantly?

Why is everybody she loves leaving her?

Why does everybody leave her?

* * *

She didn’t know what to expect when stepping into the diner. It was the same diner that she caused a scene in months ago, so maybe she thought that people would recognize her because of that?

She didn’t know what she was expecting, but she definitely wasn’t expecting nothing. 

And nothing is all she got. 

“Come on Elle, you’re blocking the door.”

Michelle snapped out of her thoughts and moved aside, allowing the old couple that was waiting behind them to pass through. The girl next to her chuckled before nodding towards one of the tables. “Come on space-case, let's sit down.”

The girl that she was with was a girl by the name of Natalie. She was new to Michelle’s calculus class—having been only recently put into advanced math—and had somehow managed to work her way into Michelle’s lonely life. 

Michelle didn’t know how it happened exactly, but now the two girls were together pretty regularly. 

“So, Ellie-Belly, what do you usually get for breakfast?”

That was another thing: the nicknames. Natalie had decided to make it her mission to call her by everything other than her actual name. And oddly enough, Michelle didn’t mind too much. The only nickname she had ever been given was Mitchie, so getting some new ideas from an outside party wasn’t so bad. 

“Probably just the all you can eat pancakes. It’s pretty cheap.”

“Oo, maybe I’ll get those too. I probably shouldn’t be having that much sugar, but I guess…”

Michelle missed the end of what she had been saying when something caught her eye from across the room. 

‘No, it couldn’t be,’ she thought to herself. 

It was Jacob.

Only buffer, taller, and with less hair. 

And beside him was Quil, who was in the same boat as Jacob. And beside them was Embry. And sat with the three of them were Sam Uley, Paul Lahote, and Jared Cameron—resident “gang” members of the reservation. 

They couldn’t see her from where she was sitting, and for that, she was grateful, because all she could do was stare in disbelief. 

They said they would never hang out with them. In fact, they hated them. So why…

She turned away quickly, as if one of them had looked over and caught her staring. She didn’t know what to do—how to react. 

They all looked so… different. They cut their hair, something Jacob swore he would never do, and what was with the sudden growth spurt? Were they on steroids or something? No. That was ridiculous. Her boys would never do something like that. 

But clearly they did something, and whatever it was wasn’t natural. 

And then she realized something. 

They weren’t her boys anymore. They stopped being her boys after that fateful day that she blew up on Jacob here in this very diner. They stopped talking to her, stopped checking in with her, stopped visiting her. 

She was nothing to them now.

She sighed, her eyes sliding closed to try and sooth the tension building behind them. They didn’t want her anymore. That much was obvious. 

And she was just going to have to accept that.

“Hey, are you okay? You look like you’re about to cry or something.”

She took a moment to collect herself before shaking her head and turning her attention back to the concerned blonde sitting in front of her. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. What are you getting to drink?”


	2. "Tears" by Clean Bandits ft. Louisa Johnson

_ “I don’t need you to call me tonight.   
_ _ I don’t need you to see if I’m alright.   
_ _ You left me, so leave me, I’m fine  
_ _ I’ll be here getting on with my life.” _

* * *

One Year Later…   
OCTOBER   


* * *

Breathe in… Breathe out…

Michelle had to remind herself to do these two simple things over and over again as she stared at the pristine looking envelope on the table in front of her. She had been staring at it for the past thirty minutes, her eyes going dry from forgetting to blink. 

It seemed like a simple task. Just open the envelope and read what is inside. It’s really not a hard thing to do. 

In theory, that is. In reality, finding the will to look inside that neatly folded bit of paper was nearly impossible. The uncertainty of what it said, however, brought her to grab ahold of it, pulling it gently into her hesitant hands as if it were made of glass. 

She grabbed the scissors that she brought from her desk and looked it over one more time before opening up the scissors and slicing the envelope open.

Pulling out the small packet—something that was hopefully a good sign—she took in another deep breath before unfolding the stack of papers and reading through them, starting from the beginning. 

Her heart stopped as she read over the words at the top of the lengthy paragraph. 

Her hand flew to cover her mouth and tears slipped down her face. 

* * *

NOVEMBER   


* * *

“Tell me again why you’re working so many hours? I don’t care what you say. You’re clearly miserable.”

Michelle groaned, her face planted firmly into one of the throw-pillows that litter her friend’s couch. 

“I’m not miserable, I’m just a bit tired.” Said friend rolled her eyes in response. 

“Yeah, tired and miserable.”

Michelle rolled her head to the side to glare in the other girl’s direction. “I’m fine Natalie, I just had a long day.”

“Every day is a long day for you. Hell, you’re in school for six hours and then working for another eight. That’s fourteen hours of strenuous misery, and that doesn’t even include homework! Which by the way, how do you still have a perfect GPA? Do you just not sleep or something?”

Michelle listened to the girl rant with her eyes closed, trying to soak up as much rest as she can before she has to get started on the  _ Crucible _ essay that’s due tomorrow for her literature class. 

She mentally groaned. Just thinking about it was making her head hurt. 

“Look at you! You can’t even keep your eyes open. Why don’t you just go to sleep?” 

Michelle sighed before moving to sit up. She yawned loudly, stretching her limbs in the process, and shook her head. 

“You know I have that essay due.”

“Then you should have called out today. I’m sure your manager would underst-”

“Natalie,” Michelle held her hand up. “You know I need the money. The first payment is due next week and then I have two more after that. And with what I’m being paid, I need all the hours I can get to be able to afford the airfare and food costs. I need this job.”

Natalie quietly looked at Michelle. Finally, she sighed and leaned back into the love seat she had situated herself on. 

“I know, I know.” she said. “I just… You worry me sometimes.”

Michelle smiled. “I’m fine, I promise. A few less hours of sleep isn’t going to kill me. If anything, it’ll get me ready for the years to come.”

They both chuckled at that. Natalie shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re going to be gone in a couple months.”

Michelle stared at the coffee table in front of her. “Yeah, me neither. It still doesn’t feel real.”

“And when are you supposed to be coming back?”

She picked at the logo on the bottom corner of her work uniform, a small frown pulling at her features. “Next December. Right in time for Christmas.”

Natalie nodded. “Well, it’s not too long. But you better call me every day. I want to know about all the cute Irish boys you meet.”

Michelle’s frown disappeared as she chuckled. “I’m not going there to meet boys Nat.”

Her friend shrugged. “Doesn’t mean you aren’t gonna. I’m serious though, you better not be holding out on me. I want all the details.”

Michelle laughed, throwing the pillow she had been using at the girl’s head. They both took a few moments to revel in the light air that surrounded them. Michelle was so busy these days with school or work that moments like this, where she was just able to sit back and laugh, were rare. Despite having been staying with Natalie and her family for the past couple of months, she barely saw her friend anymore. Their schedules just didn’t match up. 

Their laughter finally died down and the room fell into silence. 

Natalie was the one to break it. “For real though, this is an incredible opportunity and I’m really happy for you. If anybody deserves this, it’s you.”

Michelle looked at her friend for a moment before a smile broke out on her face. “You’re the best, Natalie. Thank you.”

The girl waved her hand. “Don’t thank me, just deliver on what I asked for. I want to hear about everything, and if you don’t send me pictures I’ll come for you. Seriously, I can’t believe my best friend is going to study abroad in Ireland without me. The audacity.”

* * *

DECEMBER   


* * *

Michelle had been leaving the mall—she needed a new pair of work boots due to the tragic state that hers were in—when her phone went off in her pocket. She went to grab it while juggling all of her things, before finally managed to pull it out after a few rings. 

Without even checking to see who it was, she swiped to answer the call and shoved the device in between her shoulder and her ear while simultaneously readjusted everything she was carrying. 

“Hello?”

After a moment when she finally had everything situated again, she realized that nobody was answering her. 

“Hello?” she tried again. 

“Mitchie?”

She froze. Pulling the phone back, she saw a familiar number across the top of the screen that was no longer saved in her contacts but could still easily be recognized. 

Without a second thought, she ended the call. Why was  _ he _ calling her? She hasn’t seen or heard from him in over a year. She thought that he moved on with his life at this point. 

Jacob Black. 

That was a name she hadn’t had to think about in a long time. After she and him had their big blowout fight in the diner on the reservation over a year ago, she hasn’t so much as stepped foot on the reservation since. And that was pretty easy to do, considering once Jacob and her stopped talking, so did her and everybody else on the reservation. Hell, even Billy doesn’t talk to her anymore—the man that was practically a second father to her.

Not a single one of them stayed in contact with her and honestly, she’s happy they didn’t. Without them dragging her back into all of the drama that became her old friend-group she was able to move on and push herself to expand and do better things. She wasn’t stuck in the limbo that was her life back then. 

However, as miserable as that part of her life seemed to be, looking at where she is now makes all of it look so insignificant. It was a rough patch for her, no doubt, but now all of her windows are open with so many opportunities for her. The biggest reason that everything hurt so much back then was because she felt stuck. Stuck in the same place with nowhere to go and no money to get there. Stuck with no friends to talk to and no family to rely on. She was just stuck. 

It’s amazing how so much can change in such a short amount of time.

Now, she’s living with the girl that has been with her through all the ups and downs that the last year has had to bring. Now, she is working hard to save her own money so that she can study abroad in Ireland through the college that she got accepted into early due to her outstanding grades and extracurricular achievements. Now, she is moving onto a new phase of her life that’s completely uncharted and ready to be explored. This was her life now, and it was a life that she was creating with her own two hands. She was finally pushing past the barriers that used to hold her back. 

So, while the Michelle back then might have answered Jacob’s call and tried to work things out with the boy she used to love whole-heartedly, the Michelle that exists now is content with how things worked out. 

For now, all she is going to focus on is herself, and whatever happens later can be left undecided. For now, she’s just going to enjoy her time left here in Forks and prepare herself for the new chapter that’s opening up before her. 

A chapter that Jacob Black is not going to be a part of.

* * *

JANUARY   


* * *

“Moody! Get back here!” 

Michelle laughed as she watched her best friend leap out of the car and run down the dirt path towards the beach. The dog she ran off chasing had created a sizable distance between the two as he rushed towards the water, diving in before Natalie could get her hands on him. Michelle shook her head in amusement and took it upon herself to grab their stuff.

She slowly made her way down towards her friend, taking her time to enjoy the view of the sun setting over the horizon. One thing that she would actually miss about Forks was the view. When it wasn’t pouring out, the rocky, cliff-ridden shorelines of the Olympic peninsula made for some spectacular sunsets. 

Michelle caught up with Natalie a few minutes later. The girls stood there for a moment, watching Natalie’s dog, Moody, run around in the water before Natalie shook her head and sighed. “I swear, that dog is going to get himself killed one day. How the hell am I supposed to keep up with him when he just takes off like that?” 

Michelle smirked. “For a three-legged dog, you’d think he’d be easier for you to catch.”

“You’re real funny, you know that?”

Ignoring her friend’s scoff, she turned to her. “You wanna go walk around a bit. Maybe we can wear the little speedster out a bit? Make him easier to wrangle back into the car later.”

“Yeah, yeah. Make fun of me all you want, but next time, you can be the one that takes Moody Watch. See how you like it.”

Michelle shook her head while setting their stuff down into the sand. She slipped her phone into the pocket of her jeans and slid her shoes and socks off, waiting for Natalie to do the same, before they started making their way down the shoreline towards some of the well-known coves. 

Every week, they liked to pick a day to take Moody to the beach and let him run around to get out some of his never-ending energy. He absolutely loved it, and it gave the girls a chance to relax and push all the stress of their busy schedules out of their minds for a couple hours. This, however, was their last time going as Michelle was leaving for Ireland in a couple of days. 

“So, are you excited to be going soon? I know we always talk about it, but now it’s only a couple of days away and… I don’t know. It just feels more real now.”

Michelle nodded. “Yeah. I’m a bit nervous, of course, but I can’t wait. This might sound harsh, but I just feel like I’m finally climbing out of the cage I’ve been stuck in here. I don’t know. As dramatic as that sounds, I know that as soon as I get on that plane, I’m going to finally feel some relief.”

Natalie shook her head. “No, I completely understand that. Living here does sometimes feel like we’re just stuck in a bear trap. But at least you have a way out now. That’s all that matters.”

Michelle glanced at her friend out of the corner of her eyes. The girl was looking down at her feet as she waded through the sand, kicking at it absentmindedly every now and then. 

“You still have a chance at UCLA and Santa Barbara. Don’t give up hope just yet.”

The girl sighed. “Yeah, I know. I just can’t help but feel like what I’m doing isn’t enough. I mean, 5 universities have already declined my application Elle. That doesn’t really do good things to a girl’s self-esteem.”

“To be fair, you only really applied to top tier schools. So really, the fact that you still have a chance at two of them after coming from this small town is a feat in and of itself.”

“I know…” Natalie trailed off. “I’m just worried. And nervous. God, I’m so nervous. If I don’t get into one of these schools I’m stuck going to Peninsula College and I really don’t want to do that.”

Michelle nodded. She wanted to mention that the girl could always apply to the same university that she had already been accepted into, but she figured she would keep her mouth shut for now. She knew that wasn’t really an option for the girl. University of Washington was a decent school, but it wasn’t Ivy League. And at this point, Ivy League was what was going to get Natalie as far away from this town as possible. Michelle couldn’t blame her friend for her way of thinking. If her situation were different, she would probably be thinking the same way. But with her being accepted into the early study abroad program, Michelle didn’t have to worry about location so much. Nothing was further away from this trap of a town than Ireland. She made sure of that...

She just really hoped that Natalie gets accepted into one of these schools. She was worried about what would happen if it doesn’t happen.

“Anyways! Let’s not focus on that right now. Let’s focus on spending as much time together as we can before the fateful day arrives and I lose you for a whole year.”

Michelle chuckled, and was about to respond when they turned around a bend filled with large rocks and stumbled upon a sight that made her stop in her tracks. 

A bonfire. And judging by all the massive figures hulking around the firepit, it was a La Push bonfire.

“Elle? Why’d you stop?”

She barely registered what her friend had said. She was too busy trying to figure out if it would be easier to keep walking and just ignore them or simply turn and walk away before she’s spotted. The second seemed like an almost childish thing to do, but the first ran the risk of them trying to communicate with her, and while she really didn’t think that would even happen with how they dropped her the way they did, she wasn’t sure she wanted to take the chance. 

“Seriously Elle, Moody is running off again. Come on, before he jumps into those poor peoples’ firepit and roasts himself alive.”

Michelle was brought out of her thoughts by her friend’s weird statement. Looking at the girl, she raised a brow in question of what the hell she was talking about. Natalie only smirked in response. “I knew that would get yuh, but seriously, that dumb dog is teetering dangerously close to that big group over there. Hurry up!”

After that, Natalie took off towards her dog, who was now hopping around a good fifty feet away from the very people Michelle did not want to see at the moment. She sighed. Of course this would happen. She was actually surprised that it hadn’t happened sooner with how often they came to this beach. 

After staring at her friend’s figure as it moved further and further away from her, Michelle sighed for a second time. Looks like she’s going to have to risk it. Slowly, almost hesitantly, she continued walking towards where Natalie was trying to catch her hobbling, excited pup. As she got closer, she heard the girl yelling out profanities as the dog kept managing to worm himself out of her grip. She couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. It was in those few seconds where she let down her guard that she heard a familiar voice call out.

“Mitchie?”

Her eyes widened and she quickly turned to see one of the large figures jogging over to her. 

Why did she think that this was a good idea again?

“Holy crap, Mitchie! I haven’t seen you in forever! How are you doing?”

At first, she didn’t recognize the boy with his big, bulky form. The cheerful rambling that came out of his mouth before he had even reached her, however, told her all she needed to know. 

“Seth?”

Natalie stood up after finally wrangling Moody into her arms. She was panting slightly as she looked between Michelle and Seth with a look of confusion on her face. “You know this guy Elle?”

Michelle was unfortunately too busy being shocked stupid to answer her best friend. Seth—little, dorky Seth—looked like… this? She couldn’t process that for the life of her. How did somebody so small and scrawny end up looking like a cheesy romance novel cover photo? 

And then she remembered something that she had managed to forget after so long of not being around the La Push boys: their insane growth spurts. She forgot about how weird everything revolving around La Push really was. 

Pushing those thoughts aside, however, she managed to reign in her surprise. Who cares if Seth looked like a 20 year old marine stuck in a 15 year old’s body? That wasn’t her concern anymore. 

All of her nerves regarding running into her old friends started to disappear at that realization. None of that was any of her business anymore. She was no longer friends with them. She wouldn’t say that the La Push boys were strangers to her now, because that simply wasn’t true. They were acquaintances now. Not friends, not strangers, not enemies. Just acquaintances.

“Yeah, met him through one of my old friends.”

Seth’s smile faltered briefly at her explanation, but it didn’t last long as his signature goofy smile quickly reappeared. He looked at Natalie to introduce himself. “Yeah, sorry about that. I’m Seth.”

“Natalie…” she trailed off giving Michelle a questioning glance. The girl simply shook her head, a sign that she didn’t want to talk about it in front of this person. Taking that as her cue, Natalie opened her mouth to relieve some of the subtle tension that was building between the other two. “Sorry you had to see all that by the way. If I didn’t stop this little monster, he probably would have tossed himself right into your fire. He’s not the brightest bulb in the bunch.”

At that, Moody groaned and nipped at his owner’s ear. She yelped in shock, bringing a hand up to check for damage. “Moody! What the hell dude?!”

The smug look on the dog’s face made Michelle sigh in exasperation. Turning away from the two, she smiled sheepishly at the amused boy standing next to her. “I’m so sorry about them. You can just ignore them. I do it all the time.”

“Hey! Don’t rope me in with this mangy mutt!”

Another sound from Moody followed by a yelp rang out.. 

“Alright that’s it, I’ll give you five seconds to run before I fry you up myself you little demon-spawn!”

And then they were off. Michelle once again sighed, her hand coming up to rub the bridge of her nose. “Again, so sorry about them.”

At this point, Seth looked like he was trying his best to hold back his laughter. He waved a hand, “Don’t worry about it. They seem like quite the duo.”

She scoffed. “You have no idea.”

Seth’s face quirked into an amused smile. She has never been super close with the younger boy, but she knew him well enough to know that he probably felt her absence when she stopped coming around. She couldn’t help but wonder if Jacob or Quil ever told the others what happened between them. After all, she was sure that people like Embry and Seth had questions. Or maybe they just lied and said that she decided to ditch them for something better. 

Whatever the case may be, it  _ wasn’t her problem now. _

“You know,” Seth drawled. “Jacob’s here too. And I’m pretty sure everybody heard me when I said your name earlier. Maybe you two should-”

“Stop Seth.”

His feature straightened out. “I’m just saying, maybe if you two talk-”

“No.”

“Mitchie…”

“Don’t call me that.” Seeing Seth flinch at the bite in her voice made her regret losing control of her emotions like that. She took a moment to calm herself before continuing. “Sorry, there’s just no reason for us to talk anymore. He made that clear a long time ago.”

“I guess… But maybe you guys-”

“Seth,” she stopped him. “Look, I’m not angry at anybody anymore. There’s nothing to work out or fix. I’ve just moved on. Plain and simple.”

The boy looked at her for a moment, letting her words sink in. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but held it back. 

“Alright. But I’m pretty sure Embry and Quil really want to see you. Quil was originally going to come over here, but I figured you’d rather talk to a third party. Plus, I kinda missed you. It really is good to see you again.”

Her expression softened. This boy was just a big sweetheart. Looking over his shoulder, she realized how close she was to the rest of his group. Most of them were sitting around the fire while a few of them were standing in a circle off to the side—their eyes focused on her. They didn’t even bother looking away when she looked over either. Embry and Quil simply smiled at her, giving her a wave. Glancing over them, she made eye contact with Jacob for the first time in over a year. Instead of the boyish grin she remembered from all the time she spent with him, his face was drawn impassively with a hard edge that was never there before. As soon as their eyes met, however, something in his hardened expression changed. His eyes widened and a look of awe settled subtly into his features. She looked away. She couldn’t handle that expression anymore. 

“It’s good to see you again too Seth. I should really go catch up with Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb over there before they accidentally trip into the water and drown themselves. You can tell everybody hello for me though. ”

Seth nodded slowly. “Yeah, I will. But hey! Maybe we can hang out sometime soon. Just you and me? You can always stop by for dinner too. I’m sure my mom would love to see you again.”

Michelle grimaced at the hopeful expression on his face. She hoped that this wouldn’t come up. She hoped that she’d be able to just slip away without having to tell anybody else.

“Actually Seth,” she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “That wouldn’t really work. I’m kind of leaving in a couple of days.”

Seth’s head tilted in confusion. “Leaving? You going on a vacation or something? Doesn’t school start up again in a couple of days?”

Michelle sighed. “I’m not in school anymore, Seth. I graduated early. And no, I’m not going on a vacation. I got accepted into an undergrad study abroad program through my college, so I’ll be studying abroad this year.”

He seemed surprised before his face dropped into mild disappointment. Michelle wanted to walk away as the two fell into a small bout of silence, but would feel weird if she did, so she stayed were she was and remained quiet.

“That’s… congrats I guess.”

Michelle nodded awkwardly. “Thank you. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Seth nodded. “I just... can’t believe you’re leaving. I don’t know, I guess people from this town don’t really leave very often. Where are you going to go?”

“I’ll be in Ireland. I’ll be working as an intern in architectural photography while I study cinematography. I got really lucky too. Practically everything is being paid for by scholarships through the university, so all I have to pay is airfare and living expenses.”

The more she said, the more Seth’s shoulders began to drop. Michelle felt bad. She could tell that the kid was really trying to mend whatever little friendship they had left, but her sudden news of moving across the world was no doubt crushing any hope he had. And to think, she wasn’t even that close with Seth before all the drama that happened. She can’t even imagine what it would be like to try telling this to somebody like Embry or Quil.

She really needed to get out of this conversation.

“That’s fantastic! I’m so happy for you Michelle. Well, I should be getting back to the guys. Are you sure you don’t want to talk to Jacob? Or even Embry and Quil? I’m sure they’d want to at least say goodbye to you.”

Michelle thought about it for a brief second before standing firm in her decision that  _ none of this was her problem anymore _ . She was moving on and running back to people from her past was a horrible way of going about it. 

“I really have to go. Just say goodbye to them for me, would you?”

The poor kid looked torn, but nodded anyways. With a quick, awkward, one-armed hug, the boy turned and made his way back over to the rest of his friends, only looking back to give her one last smile.

“Hah! I finally caught you, you mangy mutt! Look Elle! I grabbed the little shit by his harness!”

Michelle sighed, a small smile creeping back onto her face as she watched her friend dangle her dog up in victory by the back of his harness while the dog squirmed, trying to knip at his owner’s fingers.

Yeah, she made the right decision.

* * *

Michelle was viciously dragged into a group hug—the group consisting of Natalie, herself, and of course, Moody.

“Natalie... you’re crushing... my lungs,” Michelle gasped in between short breaths of air. Natalie only tightened her hold, burying her head into the crevice of Michelle’s neck. Moody, feeling left out, pressed his head up from his position in Natalie’s other arm and licked Michelle’s face. He managed to get her right over the mouth and up into her nose, causing her to step back in disgust. She wiped his drool away with the sleeve of her shirt. “Yuck! Moody, I love you too buddy, but I thought we talked about this already. No tongue action…”

Finally managing to get a majority of his saliva off, Michelle focused on Natalie—who had backed away in Michelle’s attempt at thrusting Moody’s tongue away from her.

“Aw, come on Nat. Don’t cry. You’re going to make me cry.”

Natalie sniffled and blinked rapidly in hopes of preventing any tears from falling. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t think it would be this hard.”

Michelle practically melted. Reaching out, she pulled the girl into another tight embrace, the two rocking on their feet as they held each other. “It won’t be that bad, trust me. Watch, it will go by so fast, you won’t even realize I’m gone.”

Natalie scoffed sadly. “I call bullshit. I have no clue what I’m going to do without you for a whole year.”

Michelle pulled back, hands firmly planted on the girl’s shoulders. “Don’t be like that. You’ll be fine.” She smirked slyly. “Especially after I send you pictures of all the cute Irish boys I meet.”

Their laughs were loud and boisterous, causing those around them to give them weird looks. The two girls ignored them, however, in favor of enjoying their last few moments together in person for the next 11 months.

“Seriously though,” Natalie’s smile straightened out a bit into something more melancholy. “Don’t forget to call and text me. Oh! And we can video-chat too. Also, text me when you land and let me know you made it safe. I want updates Elle. Don’t forget and make me think your plane crashed and that you’re floating on a seat cover somewhere in the Pacific. I’ll never forgive you for that.”

Michelle just watched as her friend rambled about all sorts of things, like “don’t forget to get something to eat, you don’t want to pass out in the air” and “I hope you went to the bathroom before getting on the plane, those plane toilets are atrocious.”

She really couldn’t have asked for a better best friend. 

_ “Flight B23 to Belfast International is now boarding. I repeat, flight B23 to Belfast International is now boarding. Thank you.” _

Both girls—and surprisingly, Moody as well—grew serious. 

“Well, this is it.”

Michelle nodded. “Yep.”

Natalie sighed and pulled away from Michelle. “You go and kick some architectures ass.”

Michelle’s eyes narrowed contemplatively. “Not sure that’s how that works-”

“Just,” Natalie shrugged, a small smile tugging at her lips affectionately. “Don’t forget where you came from.”

The heavy weight that had constantly been pressing into Michelle’s chest ever since she discovered her father’s sick secret finally felt like it was starting to loosen. Her throat welled up without her permission, leaving her feeling rather breathless. 

She shook her head, lips pressed into a firm line to prevent them from quivering. 

“Never.”

As she walked onto that plane and took her window seat all the way in the back, she looked out of the window and sighed a huge breath of relief. 

There was so much she could do from here. So many different directions she could go, and for once, all of these directions seemed accessible to her. She had so many opportunities lined up in front of her. 

And they were all hers for the taking.


	3. "Half a Man" by Dean Lewis

_ “I’ve been running from my demons,  
_ _ afraid to look behind.  
_ _ I’ve been running from myself,  
_ _ afraid of what I’d find.” _

* * *

One Month Later...   
FEBRUARY

* * *

Jacob sighed to himself as he pulled up in front of his small home. He knew his dad was home. After all, he was the one that gave the man rides a majority of the time, and he hadn’t been home in the past couple of days, so he knew that he didn’t give the man much of a choice in the matter.

He really didn’t want to think about how horrible of a son he has been at the moment. He knew he hadn’t been around much lately. He knew he was now showing up at 2 A.M. without notice. And he knew his dad was probably sitting in his chair, awake, and waiting for him to come home. 

He knew he was a shitty son, but he didn’t want to think about that right now. He had enough going on in his head. 

Turning the truck off, he took his time collecting his belongings from the center console. He forced his legs to twist so he could jump out of the truck and slowed his drawl towards the front door. Anything to delay facing what was inevitably on the other side. 

With another deep sigh, he opened the door quietly, just in case his father had fallen asleep. He hadn’t. Instead, he was trying not to doze off in front of the television watching reruns of one of the 90’s sitcoms that was played late at night. When he heard the door open, however, he straightened up and turned towards the door. “Jacob?”

Jacob winced, making sure to manage his expression before closing the door completely and making his way over to his father’s still-sitting figure. “Hey dad.”

His dad said nothing— just continued to stare at him expectantly. 

Jacob’s hands twitched at the tense silence. “What’s up?”

He knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left his mouth, but it was too late to take them back. Instead, he was forced to watch as his father’s face tense with disappointment and something else that he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Frustration? Anger? A mix of the two?

Seconds ticked by without either saying a word, and when Jacob couldn’t take the intensity of the older man’s harsh stare any longer, he moved towards the connecting kitchen to grab a glass of water.

“Jacob, come sit down.”

Jacob filled his glass and took a large gulp before planting himself on the couch adjacent to his dad’s reclining chair. The chair was no longer reclined. While he was in the kitchen, his dad had sat himself up, leaning himself on the arm of the chair for support.

“Do you want to explain yourself?” The man’s voice was firm. The older Black had always been reasonable in how he dealt with his childrens’ bad behavior. Especially after his wife, Jacob’s mother, had passed— Billy Black always made sure to cherish his children and show them all the love and support that a single parent possibly could.

It was rare that he got truly angry.

“I-” Jacob ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry is not an explanation Jacob. I want an explanation.”

The younger boy wiped an exhausted hand over his face. “I don’t know dad. I just… I just got sidetracked.”

“For two days?!” Jacob jumped at the intensity of his father’s voice. Billy rarely raises his voice. The man sighed deeply. “Jacob, you were gone for over forty-eight hours. You didn’t tell me where you were going. Hell, you didn’t tell me that you were leaving at all. You didn’t answer any of my calls or texts when I was trying to get ahold of you to see if you were even okay. Do you understand how scared I was?”

“I know dad, I’m so-”

“No, Jacob. You don’t know. I called everybody to see where you were, but nobody knew. Not even Sam. I didn’t know if you were...”

The room fell into a loaded silence. Guilt started to sink in. He hadn’t thought about what he was doing until he snapped out of it a few hours prior to coming home. It was like he wasn’t in control of himself. He was just running off instinct. 

A lump formed in the back of his throat and his entire jaw clenched with emotion.

“I’m sorry.” His words came out no louder than a whisper. 

They fell into silence once again as both father and son collected themselves enough to continue to speak. 

“Where were you?”

Jacob shrugged. “Not sure. I think I made it up to the border at some point. I just wandered mostly.”

Billy’s eyes softened. He reached over to his son and placed a comforting hand on the boy’s own. He gave it a tight, reassuring squeeze. “Are you okay?”

Jacob’s shoulders began to droop forward as the tension that previously filled the room began to dwindle. “Yeah dad. I’m okay.”

“You really think you can lie to your old man and get away with it? Think again.”

Jacob huffed a faint laugh. “Yeah, I figured you weren’t old enough yet for that to slide.”

A hand firmly biffed him off the back of the head. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding. You’re as young and spry as you were twenty years ago.”

“You’re really pushing it…”

“Sorry, sorry.” Jacob’s laughter quickly died down. “I don’t know. I just… Bella won’t listen to reason. I tried, and we were finally connecting again and then she just ruined everything by going after that suicidal leech. I just don’t get it dad. Why can’t she just understand us when we say they’re no good for her?”

He appreciated his father’s attention with matters concerning a certain Swan. Whenever he spoke of her around his friends and packmates, they just mocked him and told him to get over her already. 

He stopped talking to them about her altogether.

“Jacob,” his father started hesitantly. “Are you sure this is about Bella?”

His entire body tensed. His hands began shaking, leading him to take a deep breath in efforts to calming himself down. No. He wasn’t thinking about that right now. 

“Of course it is. I just said it is.”

His father sighed, eyeing his son’s visibly shaking hands. He gave the boy a minute to collect himself before continuing. “You can’t lie to me, remember?” 

Jacob leapt off the couch. “It’s late. I’m going to bed.”

Before his father had the chance to say anything else, Jacob stormed into his bedroom and slammed the door behind him, leaving his father alone in front of the television once again.

* * *

2 Months Later…   
APRIL

* * *

Everything ached. It radiated over his entire body, lighting up every nerve like a firework. It hurt so bad, yet it felt slightly better than it had a few minutes prior when half his bones had to be rebroken and fixed. It was like an agonizing pain that knocked his breath away. It was the type of pain that made you wish somebody would knock you out just so it would go away. 

But now it all ached.

He asked Carlisle to see Bella, but as he waited—covered in sweat in his small, single bed—he wondered if that was a good idea. 

He just wanted some comfort. Anything to ease the aching just a little bit. He thought that maybe Bella could give that comfort to him. Maybe, if he saw what he had been fighting for, then he would feel better about what it cost him.

Maybe Bella will see him like this and change her mind.

“Hey Jake,” he heard faintly from across the room. 

He hadn’t even heard Bella come in. He was too wrapped up in his own head to be completely present on the outside. Despite that, he still managed to choke out a pathetic “hey” in response. 

His body was hot. Hotter than usual. He could feel the sweat covering his body from head to toe. It all felt like a fever dream. 

He kept his eyes trained on Bella, knowing that if he didn’t, he would begin to drift into his own headspace again. He needed to talk to Bella. He needed to see she was okay—that it was all worth it. 

“I was worried about you,” he whispered. His throat, along with the rest of his body, was shot from screaming so much. 

He really hoped she hadn’t heard that.

She shook her head in disbelief. “You were worried about me?”

“Yeah, I was worried he read my thoughts. Was he hard on you?”

She shook her head. “He wasn’t even mad at me. Or you.”

His chest clenched. “Well damn,” he managed. “He’s better than I thought.”

His throat welled up, but he swallowed it down. He didn’t want to show the girl in front of him just how he was feeling. He was sick of being let down every time he did.

“He’s not playing a game.”

He hoped. He really, truly hoped that maybe things had changed. Maybe, for some reason, this sacrifice he made for the sake of the girl kneeling beside his bed would shine a different light on him in her eyes. 

He’s never felt like such an idiot.

“Right.”

He didn’t have anything else to say to her. He was tired of trying to convince her. He was tired of feeling crushed every time she went crawling back to  _ him. _

He was just tired.

* * *

A few days later, he was finally starting to feel better. 

That night after Bella had come to visit him, she ended up leaving soon after the strained silence that fell between them became too much. She wished him well and ignored the glares she was receiving from the rest of his pack on her way out. Other than a quick phone call to check in on him yesterday, he hadn’t seen or heard from her since. 

He had been hurt at first. On top of all his broken bones, it felt as if his heart had snapped as well. Especially when things started to make sense in his head: her behavior towards him, her hanging out with him only when she needed it, that kiss…

She was using him. 

It was so blatantly obvious. He felt dumb for not seeing it before. His pack had warned him. His father had warned him. Michelle had warned him…

Michelle. God, he missed her so much. He had managed to push the thought of her aside for the past few months, but everything revolving around her was hitting him harder now than ever. She had warned him from the start. She was always on his side, no matter what. She was his best friend. 

She’s his imprint.

He can’t believe he just threw all that away. And for what? For Bella? For a girl who never really cared about him at all. A girl who was just selfishly leading him along like a puppy at her beck and call. 

He was such a fucking idiot.

And now he couldn’t even fix things between him and Mitchie. She was all the way on the opposite side of the globe and had, at some point, blocked his number. He could always go to her best friend, but that didn’t feel right. She clearly wanted nothing to do with him. He could at least give her that after everything he put her through.

He found himself wondering what life would have been like if he had ripped off his rose colored glasses sooner. Would he have a better relationship with his father? They had been slowly growing closer again over these last few days, but they still had so much more to do in order to get to what they were before. Jacob realized he had been pushing the man away and now hated himself for it.

Would he be closer to his pack? While they had been with him through everything, things were a bit tense between him and Sam, making things tense between the whole pack by default. Maybe if he had just listened to their teasing and taunting to begin with and taken the hint, things would be better between them.

Would he still have Mitchie by his side? He knew she always hated living in this town, but she always said that he made it worth it. After he abandoned her like he did, he could imagine that there wasn’t much left for her here. 

No. Despite all the negativity that came from the situation, he was glad it all happened. If it didn’t, he wasn’t sure that she would have left. She probably would have stayed in Washington and went to the local community college for no reason other than obligatory emotional ties holding her back. 

She always wanted to leave and find her place, so he’s glad she was able to grasp that opportunity. He just wished he was there for her when she did.

He missed his imprint. No matter how much he tried not to, he couldn’t help it. She was his soulmate, and deep down, he’s always known that. But the best thing he could do for her now was to let her open her wings and fly, so that was exactly what he was going to do. 

* * *

A few days later he received a wedding invitation.

* * *

He passed the invitation along to his father and stayed home that night to take a well-deserved nap.

* * *

3 Months Later…   
JULY

* * *

Bella was pregnant. 

He couldn’t believe those words were even going through his mind. 

He hadn’t spoken to the Cullens or Bella in months. He knew they got married. He never attended the wedding, but his father, out of respect to Charlie, went in his place. He doesn’t even know why he was invited really. There was no reason for him to go, and he couldn’t imagine what was going through Bella’s mind when she invited him. Did she think he would show up and cause a scene? Continue to argue with her that she was making a mistake?

Well he was sick of being the one to make a scene, and to be honest, he really didn’t care about her decisions anymore. She was a big girl. She could handle herself.

At least that’s what he thought.

But now she’s pregnant. 

How was that even possible? Weren’t vampires sterile? They were dead. They didn’t have blood. How does that even work?

Despite his confusion regarding the entire situation, he really didn’t care for the answer to any of those questions. In fact, he was pretty frustrated upon hearing this news. He had finally been managing to move on from the girl who had strung him along for years and now this? It’s like he couldn’t escape her. She was always getting herself into some shit that affected everybody around her and it was frustrating to say the least.

But he had heard talk within the pack. They wanted to kill the baby. Kill it because it was a freak of nature—a monster that would destroy all in its path.

Jacob thought that was a little dramatic. 

It was just a baby, and as much as he didn’t like Bella and the Cullens, he was able to recognize that this child hasn’t done anything wrong. Killing it out of spite and speculation wasn’t right.

Nobody else agreed with him though. Some of the pack members chose to remain quiet on the topic, but nobody was willing to argue against their alpha. 

Maybe it was time for him to step in.

* * *

“Sam, this is ridiculous.”

“Redi- do you hear yourself right now? This thing is a threat to our tribe-”

“Baby.”

Sam stopped, brows furrowing. “What?”

“This  _ baby _ ,” Jacob stood from where he was leaning against the wall. “You keep calling it a thing, and it’s a baby. Whether it’s half vampire or not, it’s still a half human baby.”

“Are you on fucking drugs?” Jacob sighed and rolled his eyes at Paul’s voice. “No, you’re just still pussy-whipped aren’t you? And here I thought you were finally getting over that bitch.”

Jacob ground his teeth to keep from snapping at his packmate. “This has nothing to do with Bella. Like I said, this baby is still going to be half human. Bella hasn’t been turned yet. If you kill it, you’re committing murder. I’m not going to have that on my conscience.”

“Yeah,” Paul’s voice was harsh. “And what about when that  _ baby _ comes out with a thirst for blood and murders this whole town? Then what? And what about your precious Bella? It’ll probably kill her before she even pushes it out.”

“And that’s her problem, but we don’t know anything about what’s going to happen. For all we know, that baby can come out completely human. There’s no reason to do something as harsh as  _ killing _ it when it hasn’t given us any reason to.”

Sam sighed. Noticing Paul tensing to lunge forward, he stuck his arm out as a barrier. “Paul enough.” Paul didn’t move for a moment. It took another intense look from his alpha to get him to take a deep breath and back down. Sam dropped his arm and turned his attention back towards Jacob. “Jake, you have to understand that this could be incredibly dangerous to everybody involved if things take a turn for the worse. We’re simply preventing the potential threat from becoming an actual problem. That’s what we do. You know that.”

“And what about our arrangement with the Cullens? We’re just going to light that aflame by attacking their offspring without any logical cause? That seems pretty hypocritical if you ask me.”

“He’s planning on turning her though.” Seth piped in from his spot at the kitchen table. They had all been crowded into Sam’s kitchen in a pack meeting, and he had made himself as small as possible in the corner as he listened to everybody talk about the issue at hand. “I went with Jared and Embry to their place, and Bella looks really sick. I don’t think she’ll make it if they don’t turn her.”

“Exactly,” Paul nodded. “So they’re breaking the pact. We aren’t doing anything wrong.”

Jacob was silent as he mulled this over. He hadn’t gone to visit Bella at all since he heard the news, and he didn’t really plan on it now. He’d take Seth’s word for it. 

He sighed. “Look, I want the Cullens out of here just as much, if not more than, the rest of you. I still think this is too extreme though. If we pull something like this, all morals issues set aside, do you think that they’re just going to let us kill their kid and leave? We’ll only make things worse for ourselves.”

Everyone fell silent as they thought this over. Taking down an entire coven of angry vampires was admittedly ridiculous, and in the end, that would be the only way to kill their offspring. Even if all of them weren’t on board with Bella giving birth to this kid, at least one of them had to be. And once their head hit the floor separate from their body, all of the others would be out ffor blood. 

Sam was the one to break the silence. “What do you suggest then?”

They all turned to Jacob, waiting for his response. He thought about it for a minute before making up his mind. 

“Why don’t we give them an ultimatum?”

The pack looked between one another. “Like what?” Jared asked. 

Jacob straightened and moved to stand beside Sam to face all the others. “Why don’t we let them make the choice. They can either take their spawn and leave—as in move away and never come back—or we can go through with the original plan. After all, I agree with you guys that it’s time those leeches need to go. They’ve been here too long and I don’t like how young pack members are starting to become…”

They all agreed with that last fact. The people that were shifting were starting to get younger and younger. Their youngest right now were Brady and Collin who were both thirteen. Thirteen year olds shouldn’t be having to worry about fighting deadly supernatural creatures. 

The pack was quiet as they mulled the idea over. Finally, Sam cleared his throat, catching all of their attention. “How about we think about it and reconvene tomorrow. It’s been a long day.”

They all agreed and slowly began to file out to avoid the lingering tension in the room. It was suffocatingly thick. 

The only two to stay behind were Sam and Jacob. Once the last pack member could be heard leaving out the back door, Sam leaned over the counter and ran a stressed hand through his hair. “I’ve never seen you that composed before. I’m starting to think you might have a point.”

The younger boy said nothing. He just watched the older man as he seemed to be thinking hard about something. 

“You know,” Sam started, “you were originally supposed to be the rightful alpha of this pack. The only reason it ended up being me was because I came first.”

Jacob remained silent. He had, of course, known this. His ancestors had always been the alpha of the La Push pack. This was the only generation where that was different. He thought about it a lot too. What would happen if he became alpha tomorrow?

He used to think that it wouldn’t be so bad. He would be in charge and he would be able to make all the final calls on things he didn’t agree with before. 

But lately, he wasn’t too sure about that. Being alpha was a lot of pressure and responsibility. He was happy that he hadn’t become alpha right after shifting. His naive ass would have probably gotten everybody killed by now. 

So even though he butted heads with Sam and his opinions sometimes, he had to admit that the man made a pretty good leader.

He turned and made his way towards the back door, stopping right at the entrance to the kitchen and turning his head back around to say one final thing before leaving. 

“As much as you piss me off sometimes, I’ll pass. It’s just not for me.”

* * *

Renesmee Cullen was born a few days after their meeting and Bella was turned into a vampire that same day. 

* * *

The Cullens left Washington two weeks later.

* * *

2 Months Later…   
September

* * *

Things have been oddly peaceful ever since the Cullens left. Of course, they all expected things to quiet down once the family of blood-suckers left their land, but none of them were used to the quiet. Vampires had been in Forks ever since Sam first shifted, and all of them had just grown used to the drama that had plagued their lives for years.

Now it was all gone, and they were finally able to relax. 

It took a couple weeks for this to sink into the pack members’ minds. Once it did, however, most of them had taken advantage of this newfound freedom and branched out in different directions.

Of course, they all still did patrols and kept an eye on things. But now, they didn’t have to worry about nearly as much as they had before. Because of that, Paul, Jared, and Leah were now working on taking over Jared’s dad’s car shop, as the man was starting to get up there in age and didn’t want to deal with the stress of running an entire shop anymore. Sam and Emily were engaged and expecting, which everybody was excited for. Quil, Embry, and Jacob were finishing up their first semester of their senior year of high school. Seth had found his imprint in a girl named Melissa who sat quietly in the back of his art class until she got paired up on a project with the person who sat next to him. Brady and Collin were enjoying their last year of middle school before they joined Seth at La Push High. 

And other than pushing through his last year of high school, Jacob was taking some time to himself and just going with the flow. 

A big part of going with the flow, however, was realizing how much he desperately missed Michelle. 

He wasn’t sure why, but lately, the distance was getting to him really bad. Maybe it was because the threat that kept him and his whole pack on edge was finally gone now, taking with it all the distractions that used to fill his mind. Or maybe it was seeing all his packmates settling down into their own routines while he still didn’t know what to do with himself. He thought about joining Jared at the shop once he graduated, but he wasn’t sure how long he wanted to do that for. He never really thought about any possibilities for himself because he was so wrapped up in other people’s drama, but now he was able to ask himself: what was he going to do next? 

He didn’t really feel comfortable leaving La Push. None of the pack did. They weren’t forced to stay there or anything, but they all felt a duty to protect their land and people. The threat might be gone for now, but that doesn’t mean that a new threat won’t pop up in the future. 

But going somewhere nearby didn’t sound so bad. Something a couple hours away that offered a bit more opportunity. 

‘Opportunity for what though?’ he asked himself over and over again. 

He wasn’t really sure, but that didn’t bother him. He knew he had plenty of time to figure things out. He was in no rush. The only thing that was clear in his mind, however, was how much he missed his imprint. 

He did something that he had never done before and talked to his father and even Sam about this. Both men were surprised that he was talking to them about his feelings at all—his father muttering something about his little bratty boy finally growing up—and both men told him different versions of the same thing. 

It would all work out. 

Jacob was pretty hesitant to believe it. After all, that cheesy line sounded way too good to be true with how messed up him and Michelle’s relationship had become over the years. 

Yet somehow, it still gave him hope. Hope that maybe now that things have changed, he can work on mending whatever he and Michelle have left. Even if it means only being friends again, he’ll take it. He just missed her. 

He wanted to tell her that—that and so much more. However, he’d have to wait for her to come back before he could start to apologize and make things right. He remembered hearing that the study abroad program was a year long, so he’d only have to wait for a few more months before she was back. 

Only a few more months. He could manage that.

* * *

3 Months Later…   
December

* * *

Jacob didn’t realize how bad his grades had gotten during all the werewolf vs. vampire drama until his algebra, chemistry, and government teachers all sat him down in a single meeting with his father to discuss the 2 C’s and a D that he currently had on his progress report. He physically cringed when he saw the grades, and it only got worse when he got a full, 2 hour lecture from his father later that night for not focusing on his schooling. 

Ever since then, he had been forced into a tutoring program at his school with threats of not graduating on time if he didn’t get his grades up in the last couple months of the semester. 

He wasn’t thrilled about this at first, but did it anyways. He saw the stress that it was giving his dad and that was the last thing he wanted to do at this point, so he sucked it up and went to his tutoring sessions every day after school. 

Turns out, tutoring wasn’t so bad. It was actually really helpful. Math had always given him a hard time and history always felt impossible to keep up with, but the other students that he worked with had given him strategies and explained things to him in ways that made everything much easier to process and remember. 

The only thing he felt dumb about was not taking advantage of it sooner.

By November, he was already starting to feel more comfortable with the material and even managed to ace his chemistry test and get a high B on his algebra test. 

Those were both solid wins in his book. 

Between going to tutoring every single week day and studying in between his patrols and pack get-togethers on the weekends, he hadn’t even realized how much time had passed until the whole pack was enjoying some barbeque food around a bonfire and Seth leapt up from his seat with his phone clutched in his hand and a excited smile spread across his face. 

“Guys! Michelle’s back!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super excited to get this chapter out! I feel like Jacob Black is done dirty in fan fictions so much. He rarely gets to grow as a character and is usually painted in a very specific light *cough* as a whiny little bitch *cough*. But anyways, I digress. I hate Bella as a character, but if you guys have any Jacob x OC stories that are good and make him seem like an actual human being, feel free to share! I love reading them :)
> 
> There's only one more chapter left and I have no idea what I'm doing with it yet, so it might be a little bit before my next update. I apologize in advance.


End file.
